PTI to boycott NA sittings in protest

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Monday that as per the party supremo Imran Khan’s instructions they will boycott the National Assembly sessions, from now on, in protest and converge outside the Parliament House for informal proceedings.

Talking to the media along with other party lawmakers here, he said a meeting of the PTI’s parliamentary party was held at KP House on Monday, wherein the orders of the party founder were read out to the members, who fully endorsed and vowed to comply with them.

He explained that they would now be staging peaceful protest gatherings outside the Parliament House. Gohar regretted that his party lawmakers were deprived of their seats from the National Assembly under various pretexts. “Our members were disqualified and we were not even allowed to speak. If we wanted to celebrate the Independence Day, they did not allow us to do so either,” he complained.

He contended that they attended the House proceedings despite numerous difficulties, adding: “We tried to present our demands in the assembly session in a democratic manner, but we were not allowed to speak”.

When contacted, PTI Information Secretary Waqas Akram confirmed the development. But when asked, would the party lawmakers totally stay away from the session, he explained that the members would briefly attend each sitting and then come out in protest. “Our members will hold assembly outside the Parliament,” he explained.

Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser emphasised that the KP government was working for the flood victims. “We request the PTI founder to also appeal for funds for the flood victims and we hope that our nation will share equally in the suffering of the people in this difficult time,” he said, adding: “There is a flood situation in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and there will also be diseases in these areas.”

He said they will also appeal to the world body to provide assistance to the flood victims. “It is the duty of the provincial government as well as the federal government to provide assistance to the flood victims,” he added.